Broken
by Tessa
Summary: And now the curse had been broken, broken by Emma telling Henry she loved him. It had been his salvation, but her downfall. Everyone remembered their life again as it had been in Fairytale Land, however, they were still stuck in Storybrooke.
1. Prologue

**Author's note:**  
I've started this story last year, when Season 1 had just ended. I wanted to make a continuation on it, as what I'd liked to see what would happen now that the curse had been broken. I already picked my title "Broken" before the creators let us know that the first episode of Season 2 would be having that title too. I've been contemplating on changing it, but any other title just didn't seem to fit, so I've kept it. And with that notion, no copyright infrigment is intented; characters, dialogue and everything else.

I've currently written 5 chapters, unbeta-ed _(please keep in mind that English is my second language and if anyone is willing to beta, please contact me by PM)_, at least 11,000 words already and I'm no where near finished with it yet. I plan to do a weekly weekend update, however, my job is a hectic one, which leaves me hardly any time to write and be creative.

That said, here's the prologue and I hope you all enjoy it enough to leave me a review =D.

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**Prologue**

Regina Mills sat behind her desk in her home office. When she had gotten home, both her and Henry had dinner. It had been a quiet affair, neither one of them had spoken a single word to each other. The only thing Henry had said to her was his question if he could be excused to do his home work.

"Anything to get away from me," she mumbled bitterly. Her thoughts went back to this afternoon, when she has presented Henry his gift.

_Henry looked at the present dejectedly. Regina felt anxious, but tried to mask it by cheeringly telling him to open his present._

_Her son looked up at her, not quite believing why his mother would give him a present. "What's the occasion?"_

_"The occasion is I love you." Regina smiled. "Go on!"_

_Henry slowly opened the box. In it was a portable computer game._

_"I know you miss your book, but with this you can do the heroics. You can save the princesses, you can be the hero!"_

_Henry checked out his present during his mother's speech, not once responding to her, giving no indication he was happy with the gift his mother had given him._

_Regina sighed dejectedly. "Henry, you have to believe me. When I tore down the playground, I did it for your safety." She put her hand on his arm. "Please, don't be upset with me. I really didn't mean to destroy your book."_

_Henry put the computer game back in the box, then looked at his mother. "It's not just the book."_

_This made Regina ask him what was still bothering him. When he answered he wanted to see Emma, her heart shattered a little more._

_A knock on the door prevented them from continuing the conversation. Kathryn walked in and Regina quickly tried to mask the hurt she felt. Knowing she had walked in to something private, Kathryn apologised and Regina was quick to tell her not to worry about it. With a small smile she told Henry to go home and she would be there in a bit, the pain of his 'betrayal' still lingering and she had to look away and compose herself before she was able to talk to Kathryn._

"Emma! Ever since he brought that woman back, he's been slipping further away from me." Regina gulped down the contents of the glass that had stood on her desk. She knew the exact moment she felt Henry was slipping away from her grasp. The moment Mary Margaret had given him that damn book.

Where the teacher had found it, was beyond her, but it wouldn't surprise her if Mr. Gold -Rumplestiltskin, she reminded herself- had kept it all those years and, as he clearly remembered who he was, pointed the teacher to its existence. She stood up, took the glass with her to the kitchen, grabbed the bottle of wine and took both the glass and the bottle with her to her bedroom.

When the alarm clock went off at seven a.m. Regina had a hard time waking up. While she tried to stop the alarm, she knocked the empty bottle of her night stand, the noise of it doing nothing good for the major headache she had. And that major headache did nothing to improve yesterday's mood of worthlessness. She fell down to sleep again.

An hour later she woke again to her alarm clock frantically going off. When she managed to stop the alarm, she carefully sat up, grabbing her head when she felt dizziness overwhelm her. "Okay, no more wine for me for a while." She softly said.

"Mom!" Came the distinct yelling from downstairs.

"Mom!" This time it was definitely closer.

"Mom! I'm off to school!" Henry had opened the door to her bedroom.

"Please, Henry, keep your voice down." she muttered while grabbing her hands in both hands.

Henry saw the pained look on her face and hesitantly walked further into his mother's bedroom. "Mom? Are you alright?"

Regina waved him off. "Yeah, I'm good. Have fun at school. I'll pick you up afterwards."

Henry shrugged his shoulders and made his way downstairs. Just as he was about to leave the room, he stopped in the doorway and turned to his mother. What he saw threw him off: her complete posture showed defeat, like she was broken. But what shook him the most were the silent tears streaming down her face. In all his ten years, he had never seen his mother cry. Slowly he backed out and closed the door silently, making his way to school.

When school was finished, Henry sat on the bench, playing his new game while he waited for his mother to pick him up. Emma sat down next to him, exclaiming she loved the game he was playing. Henry told her his mother had given it to him and Emma told him she used to play it a lot when she was a kid. A minute later the game indicated 'game over'. Henry looked up at Emma and told her his mother was about to pick him up in five minutes.

"Alright, I'll be quick then." Emma replied, opening her bag. While she took the book out, she said: "I just have something I'd like to give you."

When Henry noticed the book in her hands, his eyes went wide. "You found it! Where'd you get it?"

"I found it in a gutter." Emma told him. Seeing the confused look on Henry's face she continued: "It must have fallen of the dump truck on the way to the junk yard and got tossed around in the rain and somehow made his way back to me."

"Wow! That's crazy!" Henry said.

"What other explanation could there be?" Emma asked him.

Henry looked at the book, deep in thought. "I don't know."

"Well, whatever happened, it came back to me."

"Maybe it means our luck is changing. Operation Cobra is back on. It's a sign things are going to be better."

"I hope you're right, kid." Emma replied. "I gotta go." And she nudged him, smiling. While she walked away, she looked back once, and saw Henry smiling at her, before he turned his attention back to the book, opening it.

The honk of a car horn made him look up. Seeing his mother, he quickly stuffed the book in his bag before making his way to the car. "Hi, mom," Henry said, then softly added: "How are you feeling?"

Regina looked at Henry confused. Lately when she picked him up from school, he simply slid into his seat in the car, without saying a word. A greeting and a concerned question were certainly not what she was expecting. "I'm okay," she stiffly replied.

Henry knew his mother was lying, but knew better than to comment further on the subject. The ride home was in silence, Regina keeping her attention to the road, while Henry simply looked out of the window. His mind was whirling with thoughts about what he had seen that morning. He kept thinking about it throughout the day and Mary Margaret had to call for his attention more than once.

When they got home, Henry stepped out of the car, but waited till his mother had walked around. When she was near enough, he grabbed her hand. Regina looked down surprised. She didn't say anything, but she softly squeezed his hand and held onto it. Inside, Henry slipped his hand out of his mothers and Regina immediately felt the loss. "I'm going to do my homework." Henry said and he made his way over to the stairs.

"Why don't you do your homework at the kitchen table, while I cook us dinner." Regina said.

Henry turned around and saw the sincere, but anxious look his mother gave him. "Okay, if you don't mind." He sat down on one of the chairs and took his books out of his school bag.

While Regina was cooking dinner, Henry made his homework. The only sounds that could be heard were the ones of a pen scratching on paper, water boiling and sauce sputtering. Once every while Regina looked at Henry, seeing the concentration on his face.

When dinner was almost ready, she told him to put his books in his bag, so she could set the table. Henry did as he was told and then silently helped his mother. The start of dinner was quiet, neither Regina nor Henry actually knew what to say. Henry found the quietness quite uncomfortable and he decided to tell his adoptive mother about his day at school. Regina looked up surprised. Henry saw her surprised look, even if it had only been a fleeting moment before she had her emotions back under control.

The rest of dinner it was Henry who did most of the talking, but he noticed his mother was listening to his every word. Then a thought struck him: 'What had happened that his mother felt need to keep her emotions so much under control?' The clattering of cutlery made him look up. One look at his mother's face made Hume realise he'd actually voiced his thought.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Getting no response, Henry stood up and took his plate to put it in the sink. Then he grabbed his bag. "I'll go and finish my homework upstairs." At the door he paused for a fleeting moment before continuing.

Regina looked at Henry while he left. It was only when she'd heard his door close, tears started to fall.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's note:**  
It's good to know that many people have taken the time to read the prologue. A thank you to those you either faved it or started to follow it. A special thank you to _Sirma_ who left a very sweet review. Thanks!

I know I said I'd update once a week, but with as it's Easter and I'm having a long weekend of, I thought _'Why not...'_ I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you for reading.

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**Chapter 1**

Regina stood in front of the mirror of her home. The past couple of days had been anything but relaxed. She thought back at everything that had happened: getting the poisoned apple by giving up the ring Daniel had given her, making the turnover with that apple and giving it to Emma, finding out not Emma but Henry has eaten of it, the two of them working together to save Henry, Rumplestiltskin...

"Damn that man!"

And now the curse had been broken, broken by Emma telling Henry she loved him. It had been his salvation, but her downfall. Everyone remembered their life again as it had been in Fairytale Land, however, they were still stuck in Storybrooke. That was something Regina hadn't been expecting. She had always thought the moment the curse was broken, everyone would remember who they were and they would be transported back to Fairytale Land.

She had been in Henry's room when she saw the dark purple cloud arriving. A smirk came to her face, for she knew exactly what the cloud entailed: Magic. Magic had been her scapegoat the moment her mother had taken the best reminder she'd had of Daniel. Not Daniel's death, nor finding out SnowWhite had been responsible for her mother knowing of her and Daniel (sure, those events had made her close off her heart), but losing that best reminder -that was part of both her and Daniel- was what had driven her to use magic for anything but good and toppling her over to the dark side like a waterfall toppling over the edge.

Regina closed her eyes. The moment the purple cloud had enveloped her, she could feel the magic taking her in its grip again. The first thing she did was ward her home with the necessary protective spells. As soon as she'd put them up, she saw the town people coming for her. However confident as she was, she went outside to face the mob that had gathered in front of her home. It didn't surprise her one bit the mob was led by dr. Whale. She knew they wanted to see her as the Evil Queen, and she would give them what they wanted. She didn't take into account the fact that magic might work completely different here, and after putting the wards up, she now found herself without any magic. It was then that Whale grabbed her by her throat and slammed her back to one of the pillars. If it weren't for the Charming family, she'd probably be dead. They convinced the mob to go home, and when they too left... Regina sighed. 'I don't know what's worse; death or in the Charming's debt.' She thought.

Knowing the people wouldn't be back for a while, she made her way upstairs. When she stood in front of her bedroom door, she turned around, walked into her son's room and let herself fall on his bed. The smell of him still lingered and with feeling both emotionally and physically drained, she instantly fell asleep.

A thousand miles away -in London, England- a young woman woke up with a gasp. The dream she'd had still vividly replaying in her mind. It had felt so real and it had left her wondering. Slowly and silently, not wanting to wake her fiancée, she stepped out of bed and made her way downstairs. She didn't know why, but she had the sudden urge to hold her baby blanket she'd been found wrapped in those thirty-one years ago. It wasn't until last week that she knew her parents had found her in it. It had come as a shock to find out she'd been taken in as a baby and not that much later adopted. She'd always thought them to be her real parents. Looking back at her childhood, she'd always sort of felt like she didn't belong. Sure, her parents loved her as much as they loved her brothers and her brothers adored her as much as she adored them, but something about living in London didn't feel right at the time. 'It still doesn't really feel right,' she thought.

Ruefully she recalled the story her parents had told her of her disappearance when she was only twelve years of age. She couldn't remember much of it and neither did her little brothers, but her parents still remembered as if it were yesterday. Their bedroom window had been open, but the front door was still locked when their parents had come back from their party. It was as if they'd simply vanished into thin air. Apparently three years had passed, when her mother had walked into their bedroom, all three of them had been soundly asleep in their beds, as if the past three years simply hadn't happened. But neither she nor her brothers had any memories of what had happened or where they'd been.

The sound of footsteps approaching made her look up. She saw her fiancée standing in the doorway, a small smile adorning his face. She couldn't help but think the smile looked familiar, to a time and place before they'd met. "Hey."

"Hey back," was the response she got. "Couldn't sleep? I felt you turning around restlessly."

She shook her head. "I had this dream, it looked so real."

The man slowly sat down besides his fiancée, noticing the baby blanket in her hands. "You want to talk about it, Wendy?" He carefully asked, because he knew whenever she felt pressured she'd shut down.

The strength radiating from him gave her the courage to speak. "It looked and felt so real, almost as if it were a memory. Which is strange, because I don't think we can actually remember anything that happened before the age of four. And, and ... it was just weird."

His silent support of him asking her to tell him more made her continue. "It was so sad, Peter. I remember a young man and a young woman standing inside a stable. They were obviously very much in love and about to run away together when this older woman entered. She wasn't happy at all to learn they were about to leave. They reasoned with her and when they thought they had her blessing, she pulled the man's heart out of his chest, crushing it. Literally crushing it in her hand, killing him."

Peter kept silent but he grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Wendy looked up and gave him a sad smile. "I remember seeing her in a wedding dress, when this young girl walked in telling her she truly was the fairest of them all. The look on her face, was one of complete shock when she learned the young girl had told her mother about the two of them."

Peter didn't ask her who she meant with 'the two of them'. He knew she meant the young man and the young woman. "What happened next?"

Wendy looked thoughtful for a moment, then she continued: "The young woman was sitting in a chair, next to the window. She was pregnant. The young girl kept touching her belly, clearly happy, while her face was completely void of any emotion. There also was this king, I think he's the young girl's father. He didn't look happy at all. Then it flashed to the woman sitting on her bed, she was knitting and she looked genuinely happy, every once in her while stroking her belly and obviously talking to her unborn child."

"Next, was her giving birth to the child, a baby girl. Then, when she was feeding her daughter, her own mother walked in. Without saying a word she took the child with her in the blanket she was wrapped in, completely ignoring her own daughter's pleas."

Wendy looked up at Peter, her eyes glistening with tears. Then her eyes grew wide as she remembered what the blanket looked like. Looking down at the blanket in her hands, she brought it up for closer inspection. "The blanket... It looked just like this one." And once again her eyes sought out Peter's.

"It's just a dream, sweetheart. Your subconscious is projecting all that you learned this past week, making you dream about it. Thus making it look so real." Peter softly stroked Wendy's hair before enveloping her in a tight hug.

Letting her head rest on his shoulder, Wendy sighed. "I guess you're right."

"You should know that by now." Peter teased, earning himself a playful slap on his arm. He stood up and held out his hand. "Come, we're going back to sleep." Wendy stood up and took the hand that was offered, interlacing their fingers.

The next morning, when Wendy woke up, the other side of the bed was empty. One look at the alarm clock told her morning soon would turn into afternoon. She wasn't really surprised, as sleep hadn't come easily and when she did sleep it was plagued with dreams about the man and woman. At one time the man had even spoken directly to her, calling her by her given name. Also the woman had said her name, when she'd had the baby girl cradled in her arms.

Getting out of bed, she made a rash decision. She got dressed, grabbed her suitcase and threw in some outfits and her toiletries and then proceeded to carry the heavy thing down the stairs, leaving it next to the door. She walked into the study and turned her laptop on. When the start-up was completed, she went in search for the first available flight to the USA. With one click her flight was booked and all that was left was getting a rental car so she could go to the place she felt she needed to be.

When Peter opened the front door, he saw Wendy's suitcase. The sound of the printer told him where she was. He made his way over to the study and simply stood there. Wendy felt his presence and turned around. "I have to go, Peter."

Peter nodded. "I understand. When does your flight leave? Want me to take you to the airport?"

Wendy stood up and gave Peter a hug. "Thank you and yes, please. My flight leaves in three hours."

"Well, grab your things then and we'll be on our way."

An hour later they arrived at London Heathrow. With a hug and kiss Peter and Wendy said their goodbyes. "I'll come as soon as I can." Peter said. "Call me when you've arrived?" Wendy nodded and after a final intense kiss, she turned around and made her way over to customs.


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's note: **A thank you to those who reviewed, favourited and read the story. I hope you are all liking it. Leaving a review would make my day and let me know what people think of it. Here's chapter 2, enjoy!

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**Chapter 2**

Emma had woken up, a feeling of foreboding settling in her stomach. She didn't had much time to dwell on it because Henry came bouncing down the stairs of Mary Margaret's small apartment.

"Morning!" And with and afterthought Henry added 'mom'.

Hearing Henry calling her mom gave her a double feeling. Ever since the curse had been broken, Henry lived with her in Mary Margaret's (scratch that, Snow's) small apartment. While she was extremely happy to have him with her, she couldn't help but think that it wasn't as it should be. A smile graced her face as she told the boy to set the table. As soon as he'd gone to do the task asked of him, her mind wandered to the woman who'd raised him the past eleven years. She wondered what had made the woman turn to the dark side of life. No one was born evil, people made each other evil and Emma wanted to know who had made Regina the person she had become. Again, she didn't had much time to dwell on it as she heard another pair of footsteps walking down the stairs. Looking up, she saw Snow entering.

"Good morning," Emma awkwardly said.

"Good morning, dear. Good morning, Henry."

Henry, who'd come back after he'd finished his task, suddenly had a thought he didn't think of these past couple of days living here. "What do I call you? Miss Blanchard? Miss White? Grandmother?

A laugh was heard. "I think Snow will do for the moment, don't you agree?" Snow White said and Henry nodded, indicating he did agree. Snow White looked at Emma, who said it would take some time getting used to, to call her something other than Mary Margaret.

"The table is all set. Can we start on breakfast? I'm hungry." Henry put his words into action by going back to the table and sitting down. Emma and Snow White took one look at each other and a smile graced both women's face, before they too walked to the table and sat down. Henry looked expectantly at both women and after a nod, he quickly started eating.

Shortly after they'd started breakfast, the sound of the doorbell interrupted them. Snow White stood to open the door and Emma saw Leroy standing at the other side. "Grumpy! Come in, what brings you here?"

Grumpy slowly walked in, a sullen look on his face. 'Figures his fairytale name is Grumpy.' Emma thought.

"My Queen, we are all wondering what you will do about the mess the Witch left us in."

Henry's eyes grew wide, hearing someone refer to his adoptive mother that way hurt more than he had expected it would. Snow White shot Grumpy a warning look to which the man shrugged while mumbling that's exactly what she was.  
"Tell me, Grumpy, what is it that you all want me to do?"

"It's not like you haven't tried that already. I certainly remember you standing among all the other people that were at Regina's house yesterday."

"And if you hadn't interfered..."

At Grumpy's reply, Henry let his glass fall, his eyes showing fear. "What did they do to her?"

"Oh, we didn't do anything to her, yet, master Henry. Thank your mother and your grandparents for that." Grumpy said and he turned his attention back to Snow White, "We did get back though and her wards are strong. But she can't keep them this strong forever and when her wards have weakened..."

It was then that Emma interrupted Grumpy's tirade. "When they have weakened I'll take her into custody so she'll get a fair trial."

The look on Grumpy's face told both Emma and Snow White he absolutely did not agree and Snow White thought it best to intervene. "You forget one thing, Grumpy, and that is the fact she's still the woman who raised my grandson."  
Snow White's tone of voice bode no room for discussion and Emma was reminded at the difference in character in the woman she once knew as Mary Margaret and the woman seeing now.

"Grumpy, I'm giving you the responsibility to make sure Regina stays unharmed."

A sigh of relief escaped Henry's lips, while both Emma and Grumpy looked surprised at Snow White.

"But my Queen, have you forgotten what that woman has put you through?"

"No, Grumpy, I haven't." Snow White replied softly. "Nor have I forgotten what she's been through." The look on her face clearly told everyone in the room the conversation was over. Grumpy gave a slight nod and left the apartment, while the other three went to finish their breakfast. Both, Henry and Emma, shot looks at Snow White, curious what she had been talking about. However, Snow White kept silent and ignored the looks her daughter and grandson were giving her. When she'd finished her breakfast, she left the table. It was then Henry turned to Emma. "Please promise me, you'll protect my mom?" Emma wasn't the least bit surprised Henry asked this of her. She was, however, surprised at how easily she made that promise.

Wendy didn't feel much for mingling with the other passengers. She felt an anxiousness she hadn't felt since her college graduation. She slowly made her way to the gate her plane would be leaving from. As she sat down in one of the chairs, doubt started to come up again. She wondered if she was doing the right thing by going to Maine, USA.

All of a sudden something caught her eye. On the chair across hers, something akin to a journal lay forgotten. Wendy looked around to see if she could see anyone to whom it might belong, but no such luck. She stood up and grabbed the journal. She opened it to see if it held a name. The only thing she found were the initials _R.M._ written in a perfectly neat handwriting. There was no address written down, so she couldn't mail it to its owner. She closed the journal and decided to put it in her bag.

As she still had to wait another hour before she could board the plane, Wendy took a magazine out of her bag to read. After ten minutes of reading the same paragraph and starting over once again, she closed the magazine and put it back. Whilst she did that, she saw the journal and she felt the enormous pull it had on her. Wendy took the journal out of her back and as it lay heavy in her hands, she opened the journal on the first entry and she started reading. After she'd finished the entry she felt confused and she decided to read it again.  
She'd reread it several times when it was time to board. Wendy put the journal away, making a mental note to analyse it later. She grabbed her passport and boarding pass and stood in line to board. After the check she walked towards the plane and after she'd entered she'd found her place quickly and settled down for the eight hours long flight.

The flight itself was uneventful. Several times food and drinks were handed out and all the while Wendy kept reading the journal she'd found. She had taken he notebook out and while reading she typed over passages she found interesting or that left her with questions, page numbers included, so she could easily find it back in the journal. Wen they were almost at their destination, Wendy went to the top of her document. In big cursive, underlined letters stood:

**_Who is R.M.?_**

After reading half of the journal, she could add several things below this question: she's a woman, she's probably in her thirties, she'd been married, she'd had a daughter, she's living in this small town called Storybrooke in Maine together with her son. All this made no sense to her and she found it extremely odd that just as she's being 'pulled' to Storybrooke, she finds a journal that belongs to someone who lives there.

"Miss, please turn off your laptop and stow it away. We're about to land."

Wendy nods to the stewardess, letting her know she's heard her and does as she's been told. The moment the plane starts its decent, the nervousness sets in. The anxious feeling stays with her the whole way through customs, getting her rental car and while she's driving towards her destination.

It was nearing noon when Regina woke up. It took her a while to realise she was in her son's room. The events of the past few days came back to her full force and it took all she had to get up from her son's bed. She went to her own room, readying herself for a shower.

After her shower, she slowly walked downstairs. She couldn't help but think if it had always been this quiet in her home, even when Henry was still living with her. Downstairs, she made her way over to the kitchen. She wasn't really all that hungry, but she knew she had to eat something to keep her strength up. Just as she was about to take a bite of her cereal, someone knocked on her door.

There was a hint of fear she felt, but she quickly pushed the feeling away while she made her way over to the door. She opened the door with caution and was surprised to see Archie Hopper standing on the other side. "Can I help you with something, mr. Hopper?"

Archie Hopper had no idea what possessed him to knock on the former Queen's front door. He was about to turn around and leave when the door opened and Regina stood in the door opening with a puzzled look on he face. It took him a few seconds to realise she had asked him a question. "I, euhm, I was wondering if, euhm, you're alright."

Regina looked at Archie and she saw that the man was feeling quite uncomfortable. Her first instinct was to use sarcasm as a defensive mechanism, but something compelled her to simply answer the man standing across her with an honest answer. "Considering all that has happened, I'm doing okay."

Archie nodded his head in understanding. "Regina, know that if you ever need someone to listen, I'm here to talk to." And with that he turned around to leave. A softly said 'thank you' made him turn around and the honesty he saw on Regina's face made him give her a small smile. "You're welcome, Regina. You know where to find me."

Little did Regina know that the upcoming couple of weeks would be some of the hardest she would encounter. Starting with the mark of the wraith Rumplestiltskin had branded her with. Then Snow White and Emma disappeared in the hat when they were trying to get rid of the dementor like thing as Emma liked to call it. She was trying hard for Henry to get them back, but just as they were ready to do so, Rumplestiltskin planted seeds of doubt in her mind, only by mentioning her mother, and they were trying to close the portal the well held. For Henry only she absorbed the magic they had been using for that and would she risk the fact that it might be her mother coming through the portal, instead of Snow White and Emma. In the end Henry had been right and just as easily he completely forgot about her. It hurt her more than she was willing to admit.


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's note: **Thanks to those who have taken the time to read my story, it means a lot that it has had over a 1,000 views. And extra thank you to those who faved/followed and an extra extra thank you to those who reviewed. Your reviews made my day.

Here's the next chapter, enjoy! I'm currently working on chapter 6 but work is busy and my muse has decided to go on a break =D. Let's hope she will return soon.

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**Chapter 3**

Wendy had stopped the car and stepped out. She had been in the United Stated for three weeks now and finally she had the nerve to go to that one small town that had been the reason she'd wanted to go. She had been reading and rereading the journal she'd found at Heathrow airport, but it had made her non the wiser and she knew she really had to go to Storybrooke. Looking at the sign _'Welcome to Storybrooke'_ a feeling of belonging claimed her. It looked the exact same way as in her dreams. She stepped back into her rental car and started to continue her journey. As she neared the sign, she felt her control over the car slip. To no avail she tried to get the control over the car back.

As the car spun towards the welcome sign, Wendy saw parts of her dreams flashing by. But the feelings that accompanied the images left her wondering if they really were just dreams conjured by what she'd learned as Peter told her. She felt the intense love the young woman had for her baby girl. And when the woman softly said the baby's name, Wendy knew her dreams were more than just dreams. It was then that her car crashed against one of the trees next to the welcome sign and her world went black.

The moment Wendy's car had crashed against a tree, the earth rumbled and shook. The citizens of Storybrooke looked at each other confused. Was this the sign their town would cease to exist? Would they go back to Fairytale Land? But as soon as it had come, it stopped and Henry came running towards them on Main Street, yelling something about a car hitting a tree.

Snow White immediately took charge over the situation and gave out orders. Emma shook her head in disbelief, still having a hard time believing the change in the woman she thought of as a best friend, but now appeared to be her mother.

Henry looked on in wonder too. "Was it like this when you and grandma were in Fairytale Land?"

Emma nodded her head and told her son it was. Henry looked up, expecting to hear more of it. He loved their stories of their time in Fairytale Land. However, the situation was precarious and Emma told Henry he needed to wait to hear more.

Leroy - Grumpy, Emma reminded herself - immediately followed Snow White's orders and together with David - James, Charming, whatever his name was, her father - he left to the place of the accident. Snow White quickly followed and Emma felt she had no other choice than to follow as well and she quickly grabbed Henry's hand. The rest looked at each other before they also quickly followed.

When Grumpy and James arrived, they saw gas leaking from the car. They immediately went over and carefully got the young woman out of the vehicle. Snow White was quick to grab the purse that lay on the back seat.

They had moved only a couple of metres when they saw Emma and Henry arriving, together with the rest of the towns people. It was that moment the car caught fire. Quickly they moved further away. Mere seconds later the car exploded with such a force, it knocked people of their feet. Grumpy and James laid the woman on jackets that had been put on the street. She was breathing but not the slightest movement made her regain consciousness.

"Who is she?" Henry asked, while he grabbed the purse out of Snow White's hand. He opened it, in the hope to find any form of identification, but the first thing he saw was a blanket. He pulled it out and handed it to Emma, who took it. As Henry continued to search for an ID, Snow White saw Emma holding the blanket.

"Where did you find the blanket?"

"Henry got it out of the purse." Emma answered. "Do you recognise it?" But Snow White didn't answer and her eyes got a far away look.

_"I love the blanket you made for my baby brother or sister" The young girl kept spending her time with her stepmother, extremely happy to know she'd soon have a brother or sister to take care of and play with. The young woman's face was completely void of any emotion when she said a polite thank you to the young girl._

_Her husband came in and told his daughter it was time for bed. Reluctantly the young girl left her stepmother's side. She grabbed her father's hand and he walked his daughter to her room. Not even once had he acknowledged his wife. It was when she was finally alone the mask of indifference slipped away from her face and tears started to fall. The blanket she still had in her hands were put in the small crib and then she made her way over to the window. While looking outside, her hands absentmindedly stroked her belly, a far-away look in her teary eyes._

"Mary Margaret? Snow White?"

Snow White looked up to see concern written all over Emma's face. "I'm alright, dear." she motherly said, while she gently took the baby blanket from her daughter. "I have seen a blanket like this before and I just remembered when and where."

"So you know who she is?" Emma asked.

Snow White shook her head. "It can't be her, it's impossible. They told me she'd died." She mumbled, making Emma even more curious.

"I found it!" Henry was holding up something that looked like a passport. He opened it, looked at the photo, the at the woman lying on the ground and back to the photo again. "It's definitely her."

"Well, what's her name?" Emma asked and Henry looked up to see his mother, grandparents and several other people looking at him expectantly.

"Her name is Wendy Darling."

Snow White gasped and her face turned as white as a sheet. Hearing the young woman's first name and still holding the baby blanket, she knew there was only one possibility left. James instantly stood beside her, while Emma saw tears forming in her eyes. "Daddy told me she died, and she didn't tell me anything different. Why would he lie to me?"

Emma looked at James, confuse evident on her face, but also James had no idea what Snow White was talking about and he was just as confused as his daughter was.

The ambulance had arrived and the paramedics (they had been healers in Fairytale Land and apparently Regina hadn't thought it necessary to change their knowledge) hauled the woman named Wendy Darling into the ambulance. Snow White was about to enter the ambulance as well when a voice stopped her.

"I wouldn't do that, dearie."

Emma whirled around, hearing the voice. She saw Mr. Gold standing a few metres away with a smirk on his face and a glint in his eyes. It gave her a feeling of foreboding. Henry apparently felt the same, because he stood closer to Emma, grabbing her hand. Snow White stood still, knowing immediately who the voice belonged. And where Emma had whirled around, Snow White slowly turned to face the man. She stood regally, every bit the Queen she was and had been in Fairytale Land. "Rumplestiltskin."

Emma's eyes widened hearing Gold's fairytale name. Slowly the story of Rumplestiltskin came back to her. She looked down at Henry, who slowly nodded his head, knowing what his birth mother was about to ask.

"Snow White." Rumplestiltskin bowed, putting up a show.

"What is it you want?"

Rumplestiltskin let out a laugh. "Can't I simply warn the queen of the danger she will be in, when going with that girl?"

"There's always a catch with you." James said.

However, Snow White's interest was spiked. "Why would I be in any danger if I enter the ambulance?"

"Because, that ambulance will crash just like her car did. This time she won't survive."

Snow White's eyes first widened, than narrowed. "You wouldn't!"

"Yes, I would. Cora's orders, dearie."

Hearing the older woman's name made Snow White realise several things at once and she let out a few curse words. Both Henry and Emma looked amazingly at the petite woman. They had never heard her use foul language before. James had to stifle a laugh seeing the amazement on both his daughter's and grandson's faces. They were in for quite a few surprises. Then he looked up alarmed as his wife made her way over to Rumplestiltskin. The way she held herself forebode nothing good, he knew.

"What do you mean; Cora's orders?!"

"Just like it's supposed to be meant, dearie. Cora's orders, means Cora's orders."

"And why would you follow up with Cora's orders? You _never_ follow anyone's orders but your own!"

"Let's just say, she and I struck a deal, many, many years ago." Rumplestiltskin's eyes moved to the ambulance.

Snow White immediately knew who was in the deal. "She bargained Wendy as part of a deal with you. Now why doesn't that surprise me. What did _she_ get out of it? Besides apparently you following her _'orders'._"

"Oh, she got to keep her daughter."

"My father wouldn't have agreed to it. He told me he really disliked Cora."

Rumplestiltskin let out a maniacal laugh and said in a sing-song voice: "I know something you don't."

"Oh, please tell me what you know, that I don't." Snow White mocked.

"She," and Rumplestiltskin pointed at Wendy, "is not the daughter of whom you think she is."

Snow White let out a humourless laugh. "I might have been a twelve year old, but I wasn't, and still am not, stupid. I knew all along."

"But you didn't know how your father felt about it. It was him who told Cora to get rid of the girl."

"He would never have done that!" Snow White said outraged.

It was then that Doc spoke up. "I'm sorry, my Queen, but he did order Cora to get rid of the girl. He was afraid she would love her and her lovers child more than she would love you. He'd married her not because he had fallen in love with her, but because of your attachment to her. He wanted you to have a mother and as you had clearly taken a liking to her, he thought she would be the best candidate."

"So, you see, dearie, your sweet father, was the culprit after all."

James, never knowing how all had happened, suddenly understood more. While Snow White and Rumplestiltskin had been talking, Henry's face had paled considerably. Suddenly he understood life wasn't only black or only white. There are lots and lots of grey areas in it as well. His knees felt weak and he let himself down on the ground. He pulled his knees up and rested his chin on them. "What have I done?"

Emma still didn't understand about whom they were talking. Hearing the remorse in Henry's voice made her crouch down to his level and she told him he hadn't done anything wrong. Then she turned around and asked who this woman named Cora was. But no answer came.

"I am going with her to the hospital. And you," Snow White pointed to Rumplestiltskin, "would do best to keep in mind to let us all live! Because you know what she's capable of when she finds out!"

Rumplestiltskin smile disappeared, as he contemplated Snow White's words. Then he turned around and with a puff of gold smoke he disappeared. Snow White walked to the ambulance and stepped in. Just as the doors were about to close, Emma appeared and asked if she really thought Gold would do as she told him to. Snow White told Emma, not to worry and closed the door.

Emma watched the ambulance leave and only turned around when it was out of sight. It was then that she saw James sitting next to Henry. She made her way over towards them and heard the last part of their conversation.  
"Life isn't only black or white, is it?"

James shook his head. "No Henry, it's not. Life knows many shades of grey in between."

"But…"

"No one knew, Henry. No one, except for those who did. And they didn't tell anyone for their own reasons."

"Come on, kid." Emma said. "We're going home." She saw Henry flinch when she said the word home, but didn't comment on it. He had to figure certain things out on his own, it was part of growing up.


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** I know I said I'd try to update once a week, but work was so hectic last week, preparing for the Kings Games and all (the whole country is going crazy with the changing from Queen to King (the last king was in 1890, after that we have had three queens, so not that weird =D). Now I'm having two weeks off and hopefully my muse will play nice and let me write more. Just wanted to post another chapter today in honour of tonight's episode; to live stream or not to live stream, that's the question at the moment.

I'd like to thank all those who reviewed, faved and followed. It means a lot to me to know that people are appreciating what I write.

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**Chapter 4**

"Hey," Emma softly closed the door behind her as she entered the room Wendy had been put in. Snow White had been by Wendy's side all this time, and Emma hadn't had the opportunity to ask her mother questions that had been bugging her. She took one of the chairs and sat down next to her mother. "Can we talk?"

Snow White, who was holding Wendy's hand, turned to look at her daughter and then back to Wendy. "It's strange, you know, she should be much older than twenty-seven."

Emma raised one of her eyebrows. "Says the woman, who apparently is my mother, but is just a couple of years older than I am."

Snow White smiled. "Don't you find all this strange?"

"Oh, strange isn't the word I would use in this situation. I'm still thinking of the word to use, though."

"I'm so glad you found us."

"Thank Henry for that." Emma replied, then her tone got more serious. "Snow, who's Cora?"

Snow White shuddered hearing the name of the woman who had taken away so much from her. "The woman that really is to blame for all this wouldn't satisfy your curiosity, would it?" And when she saw Emma shake her head, she sighed, "I knew it wouldn't. It's a long story, Emma."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"It happened when I was twelve summers old. My father and I were going to our summer palace and I stubbornly wanted to ride my horse to it, instead of sitting in the carriage with my father. My horse got frightened by something, to this day I still don't know of what, and he broke out in a run. I couldn't control him anymore and yelled for help, while desperately clinging to my horse. Then all of a sudden there was this young woman yelling for my hand. She dragged me of my horse and saved my life. I remember seeing the kindest face, I'd ever seen. And she had the warmest smile on her face when she told me her name."

Emma saw her mother getting a distant look in her eyes as she was clearly remembering what had happened years ago as if it had happened yesterday. "What was her name?"

"Regina."

"Regina?" The disbelief evident in her voice. "As in Regina, mayor of Storybrooke? The woman Henry claims to be the Evil Queen and turned out to be exactly that, cursing you all here? Letting me grow up without my parents? That Regina?"

Snow White nodded her head. "Yes. She wasn't always evil, you know. I remember someone once telling me evil isn't born, it's made. And she was made evil by the one person who should have loved her unconditionally."

Emma put two and two together. Cora, she's Regina's mother, isn't she?"

Snow White nodded her head. "Yes, she is."

"But shouldn't she blame her mother then, instead of you?"

"She holds me responsible for taking away her happiness. I told her mother, and it doesn't matter that I've been tricked into telling her, I promised Regina I wouldn't tell, and I broke that promise. She has every right to be angry with me."

"Snow, you were a child!"

Snow nodded, "yes, true, but I was a motherless child and there wasn't anything in the world I wanted more than for Regina to become my mother. I was so happy when I learned my father had proposed to her and I felt this huge gap in my heart when I made her that promise, because it meant she would never be my mother. I let Cora trick me into breaking my promise of not telling her mother, because I really wanted her to become my mother."

"And she did turn out to be a wonderful stepmother." Emma said sarcastically. "Poisoning you with an apple."

"I willingly took a bite out of that apple. Yes, she bargained for James' freedom, but I hoped she would find peace after my death."

"Why would you willingly take a bite?" Emma asked in disbelief.

"Because she had finally told me what happened. What had made her marry my father instead of…" Snow White paused. "Never mind, it's not my place to tell you that story. I never promised Regina I wouldn't, but it's the least I can do."

Emma shook her head, trying to clear her mind, when a thought struck her. "Wait a minute, if your father ordered Wendy to be taken away, and Regina was already married to your father…" She looked at Wendy. "She doesn't know, does she? That's what you meant when you told Rumplestiltskin he knows what she's capable of _when_ she finds out."

Snow White shook her head. "I don't know what happened. I only remember when I entered Regina's chambers to help her with the baby, my father was standing there and Regina had tears in her eyes. He told me the baby had died, and when I looked at her for confirmation, I got nothing; no confirmation to what my father had just told me nor a denial. Why would my own father lie to me about that? I do think Regina truly believes her daughter to be dead."

"So she has a right to know, her daughter is still very much alive. Although after all the things she's done..." Emma softly said, but determination was clearly heard in her voice.

"I do agree with that. Regardless of all the things she's done." A man's voice said, making both Emma and Snow White turn around.

Standing there was a young man. Emma had never seen him in Storybrooke and she wondered when he had arrived and how he knew of Regina. When she looked to her right she saw that Snow had stiffened, eyes wide, tears forming in them. Slowly the other woman stood up and walked towards the man. She raised her hand, ready to touch him when the man shook is head in the negative. "It's of no use, Snow."

Her eyes widened. "But, how...? Regina...?"

"Regina hasn't seen me and doesn't know. I'd like to keep it that way. I don't want to put her through that kind of pain a third time. I'm only here to help, then I need to go back."

"Go back? Go back to where?"

"Back to where it is we go."

Emma was looking at the scene in front of her with interest. The man somehow looked familiar and one look at the woman laying in the hospital bed made her realise why. "You're Wendy's father."

The man nodded. "I am." Then he turned his attention back to Snow White. "How much does your daughter know of our history, Snow? Only what you've just told her?"

Snow White nodded her head. "Yes."

Emma's eyes narrowed. "How'd you know what I've just been told? There's just the two of us. The door's closed..."

The man smiled. "I know you didn't tell your daughter what happened to me. Please do. It will make more sense to her."

Snow's eyes widened. "But..."

"I know of your silent promise to Regina never to tell the truth she told you. I'm telling you now it's okay to break this promise. You know as much as I do that this woman that has been living the past thirty-five years is _not_ Regina. I want to bring back the Regina I fell in love with, the Regina you so desperately wanted as a mother."

Emma was looking from the man to Snow and back again. It started to make less sense with every word spoken. A sudden movement from the bed, and one of the machines beeping made her turn around. It wasn't that much later doctor Whale came running in and when she stepped aside, she noticed the man was gone.

The machines attached to the young woman lying in the hospital bed beeped insistently, warning everyone that there was something very wrong. Both Emma and Snow White were guided out of the room by one of the nurses, but they didn't go any further than that and while Emma sat down on one if the chairs in the hallway, Snow White stood in front of the window.

Regina woke with a gasp. Her whole body was trembling and tears threaten to spill from her eyes. She hadn't had this dream for a long time now and she thought she'd put it behind her. But just as Daniel's death, this was not something she could simply forget. Had this been the reason she'd been so strict with Henry? She knew she was so very much afraid to lose him as she loved the boy as deeply as a mother could love her child. Perhaps she'd loved him too much, because she'd lost him anyway. Just like she'd lost her daughter all those years ago. Fragments of that episode in her life came rushing back into her conscious. First she'd lost Daniel, and then she'd lost the most precious reminder she had of him.

The pain at remembering both losses were overwhelming Regina, as it wasn't that long ago that she'd almost lost Henry as well. That brought her thoughts back to the breaking of the curse she'd cast. Everyone remembered who they are, but the curse was still somehow intact as they were still trapped in Storybrooke. The rumblings from yesterday made her think that Storybrooke would seize to exist, but alas, all was still as it was. _'In the end, I've still lost.' _Regina thought bitterly. _'Every person I've loved dearly is either death or has left me. I'm not worthy of happy endings.'_ As soon as the last thought had crossed her mind, she felt a gush of wind caressing her. She shivered and stood up to close the window, only to find it was already closed. She turned around and one look told her that the door was also closed. There was no explanation for the gush of wind she felt.

Regina tried to clear her mind by shaking her head. She sighed and then decided, as she was awake already, she'd better had an early start with whatever she would do today. All throughout breakfast, she couldn't help but feel something was off. As if someone new had entered Storybrooke, which she found utterly ridiculous as it was hardly visited by anyone. _'But, look what happened a year ago around this time.'_ The nagging voice in her head told her. _'It's been a year ago since Henry's disappearance and the arrival of Emma Swan.'_

A knock on the door startled her and slowly, while composing herself, Regina made her way to the front door to see which fool -or brave person- had the audacity to disturb her. The snidely remark she'd ready died on her lips when she opened the door. Standing in front of her was the woman she'd least expected to see.

"May I come in?"

Regina stepped aside, so the other woman could enter, then she closed the door. Without saying a word, she walked the other woman to her office. After she'd offered her something to drink and the woman declined politely, she sat down. "What brings you here?"

The other woman heard only genuineness curiosity in the voice that had asked the question. Perhaps there was defeat in her tone as well. The woman sat down across the mayor, or actually the Evil Queen. Though one look at the woman in front of her and it was very clear the Evil Queen wasn't all that evil anymore. Regina looked more broken than she'd ever seen her. "Regina, please tell me what happened that night my father told me Wendy had died?"

Regina's eyes widened and her body went rigid. "How dare you!" She quietly said and Snow White could hear the anger in her voice. "How dare you ask me that!"

"You're right, I have no right asking you what happened that night. But I do hope you'll listen to what I need to tell you."

Regina stood up, a false calmness surrounding her. "I think you should leave, my dearest stepdaughter." The last three words were said with so much venom that Snow White instinctively coiled away.

Remembering she came with a purpose, she stood up and showed no fear when she came closer. "Regina, please listen to what I have to say."

"Why should I?" came the desperate reply. "Give me one _very_ good reason why I should listen to the person who took away my happy ending."

"Because I think Wendy's still alive." Snow White saw Regina's eyes widen, then narrow dangerously and quickly she corrected herself: "No, that's not right, I _know_ Wendy's still alive." Snow White opened her purse and took out the baby blanket Henry had found in the woman's purse and gave it to Regina.

Regina recognised the baby blanket immediately and carefully took it from Snow White. "How? Where?"

"Are you aware of those rumblings yesterday?" And when Regina nodded her head, Snow White continued, "we all thought we would go back to Fairytale Land at the time, until Henry came running towards us yelling a car had crashed against the welcome sign. The woman in the car had this blanket in her purse. I wasn't sure, it was her. She could have gotten the blanket everywhere. But as I was about to enter the ambulance Rumplestiltskin warned me not to enter, the ambulance would crash and she wouldn't survive the crash this time."

"That doesn't mean that woman is Wendy."

"No, you're right, but Rumplestiltskin saying he's following Cora's orders and she was somewhat following my father's and a confirmation from Doc means that woman _is_ Wendy." Snow White looked at Regina and as all those years ago, when they first met, she could see the various emotions on her face. "Regina," Snow softly said, "do I remember correctly that at that time Wendy 'died' your mother was visiting us?"

Regina's head snapped up and for a second she looked at Snow White before getting a far away look. Then her face darkened and Snow White had an inkling what Regina was thinking. "Regina, is my memory correct?"

Regina shook her head before replying there was nothing wrong with Snow's memory and her mother had indeed been visiting them that fateful day. "And she knew perfectly well I had no idea which herbs would make someone appear dead. Where is she?"

"At the hospital, I can take you to her if you like."

"Thank you."

"Regina..."

"Make no mistake, Snow White, this doesn't change one thing between us!"

Snow nodded. "You should know that she's not doing well. Not doing well at all. They don't know if she's going to make it."

Regina stood regally. "Thank you for informing me, I'd like to see her now." Snow White turned around and Regina followed.

Half an hour later, Regina sat beside the bed Wendy was lying in. Regina had been sceptic when Snow White had come to tell her that she was quite sure Wendy was still alive. The baby blanket Snow had showed her, made her heart flutter with hope. A hope that fully bloomed to happiness when she saw the young woman lying in the hospital bed. There was no doubt in Regina any longer. There was no mistake who she was. When she looked at her, she saw Daniel. She looked so much like Daniel.

"She also looks so much like you."

Regina looked up, she'd forgotten that Snow was still in the room and she didn't think she'd said her thought out loud. Snow nodded uncomfortably, "Well, yes, I'll leave you alone with her." Regina nodded her head to acknowledge she had heard Snow, while she softly took hold of Wendy's hand. There was a slight feeling of guilt of not telling Snow White everything she knew about that period that Wendy 'died'.


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's note: **I'm floored, in less than two months this story has had over 1,200 visitors. Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Special thanks to those who reviewed. Your reviews are very much appreciated. I try to reply to you, but life can be hectic, so if I didn't, I'm sorry. Well, on to chapter 5, a short chapter this time, but it short of worked this way.

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**Chapter 5**

It was the middle of the second night that Wendy regained consciousness. Slowly she became aware of her surroundings, noticing she was lying in a hospital. The beeping of the heart monitor slowly lulled her back to sleep. Before she closed her eyes, she noticed a woman sitting in a chair besides her bed, fast asleep. Her last thought was that the woman looked awfully familiar.

It was another two days later the two women were able to talk. Regina had been stretching her legs after waking up with a cramp. Those hospital chairs were less than comfortable, but she wouldn't leave to sleep at home in fear of it all being a dream. She was on her way back to the room, when she heard a toe-curling scream. Regina hurried back and when she entered, she saw Wendy sitting up in the hospital bed, her eyes wide with fear.

"Shhh, everything is alright. You're safe." Regina slowly made her way over to Wendy, who kept looking at her with wide fearful eyes.

"You got into an accident, your car crashed against a tree right after you entered our little town. Do you remember?"

Wendy shook her head, her fear slowly disappearing. "No, I remember standing in front of the town sign, the rest is a complete blur. I presume I'm in Storybrooke's hospital?"

"That you are. I'm sorry to inform you the only thing we could save was your hand bag."

"What do you mean, the only thing you could save?"

"Apparently your car was leaking gas. They just got you out, when it exploded. It completely burned down."

Wendy stared ahead of her, muttering something so softly Regina hadn't understood one bit of it. She asked her what it was she had said, but Wendy brushed it off, telling her it was nothing serious.

Wendy turned her attention back to Regina. "How long am I here?"

"Four days."

"Four?" Wendy exclaimed. She pulled back to covers and tried to get out of the hospital bed. Regina was instantly at her side, trying to get her back in.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I've got to go. Peter, he will be worried." Wendy now planted her feet on the ground and tried to stand up. She didn't get far, the moment she stood, her legs gave out. Regina was just in time to catch her from falling on the floor.

"You, young lady, are getting back into bed. You are seriously injured, you are in no condition to leave this hospital, let alone travel back to the place you've come from. If you give me any contact information of this Peter, I'll see if I can reach him." Regina said in a motherly voice.

Wendy had tears in her eyes and she slumped back against the pillows in defeat. The woman was right, her almost fall to the floor had proven her that she was in no condition to travel. Regina saw the forlorn look on Wendy's face. She sat down on the bed, took her hand and told her everything would be fine.

Wendy looked up and it was then she remembered the small period she had woken up. Not knowing how long ago that had been, she asked if Regina had walked by her room and then heard her scream. Regina was taken aback by the question, her first instinct was to tell Wendy she was right about that. However, knowing that her dishonesty had caused the problems in her relationship with Henry, she shook her head.

"I thought so." Wendy stated.

"What do you mean?"

"I remember waking up one time these past four days. I saw you sleeping in the chair. It didn't seem comfortable."

Regina smiled, "it sure isn't."

"Do you towns people find me that big of a threat, that someone is staying with someone they don't know?"

"That's not the reason I've been staying, Wendy."

"How do you know my name? Oh, wait, my passport, it was in my hand bag. You've got me at a disadvantage, Mrs..."

Regina extended her hand. "Mills. Regina Mills."

Wendy shook her hand, "Wendy Darling." In the meantime her mind recognised the first two letters. _'I guess I found the mystery R.M. person from Storybrooke. How many people in a town as small as this have the initials R.M.?'_ "So, if you don't find me a danger to your town, then what's the reason you've been staying? I must admit that I thought you looked familiar to me when I woke up. I feel as if we are supposed to know each other."

Regina choked back a sob. "We are."

"We are?" And then something else clicked inside Wendy's brain. This woman looked a lot like the woman from the dream she'd had back in London. Only she's older now. "How?"

"It has been a long, long time ago. The last time we saw each other, you were six years old. We saw each other regularly from the moment you were born."

"I don't remember."

"I didn't think you would."

"No, I mean, I don't remember being six years old. In fact, I don't think I remember anything before my seventh birthday. My birthday party is the first thing I actually remember. All the years before that are a complete blur. Up until recently I didn't even know I was adopted. How do we know each other?"

Just as Regina was about to answer, doctor Whale walked in, accompanied by the nurse who'd told him Wendy had woken up. The nurse ushered Regina out of the room, while Wendy silently underwent all the examinations by doctor Whale

Henry was on his way home, when he passed the hospital. He knew his mother was staying with the young woman who'd they rescued out of her crashed car. His other mother and grandmother hadn't told him the reason behind that, but he knew, they knew more than they were willing to tell him.

When he got closer, he saw his mother sitting on one of the benches. Slowly he made his way over to her and when he was close enough he sat down next to her. He thought she hadn't noticed him, but a soft hello, let him know she knew he was there. He softly said a hello back.

They sat next to each other in silence for a long time, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally Henry had found the courage to start talking to his mother. The first words to stumble out of his mouth were: "I'm sorry."

Regina looked up and saw the guilt on her son's face. "Oh, sweetheart, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"Yes, I do. I treated you horribly when I thought you were the Evil Queen and when I brought Emma back to Storybrooke. I treated you horribly when Emma and Snow White were in Fairytale Land. I used you and I shouldn't have done that."

"I'm sorry too."

Henry looked up. He saw the sincerity in his mother's eyes. Somehow he knew that this wasn't exactly the moment, nor the time they should dig deeper into this. This conversation should be put on hold for a bit longer. Firstly they needed to mend their relationship. To be on safe ground he asked how the woman was doing.

"She's awake."

"That's good."

Regina looked at her son and the contemplative look he had on his face told her he was wondering why she was staying at the hospital. "You're wondering why I'm staying here."

Henry looked up at his mother and slowly nodded. "I do. Snow and Emma wouldn't tell me anything other than you were staying with her. I just found that weird. At the crash side they were talking about her and you, but I never heard any kind of confirmation about it, nor did they tell me who Cora is."

At the mention of Cora, Regina stiffened visibly. Henry noticed this immediately. "I take it, she's one of the bad guys?"

Regina hung her head. "She's my mother." She softly whispered.

More about the subject couldn't be said, for Emma had stopped her yellow bug and called out to Henry. Henry stood up and started to walk away towards his birth mother. Regina watched him go with a sad look on her face. A look Henry caught when he unexpectedly turned around. "Will I be able to see you again soon?"

Surprise flashed in Regina's eyes. "I'd like that, but only if you want to."

"I'd like that too, mom." Then he turned around and walked towards the car waiting for him.

Emma had seen the sad look on Regina's face as well. And she had seen the tentative smile when Henry turned around and had said something to her. When Henry opened the door of the bug, she greeted him.

Henry smiled at her and buckled up. "Ma, I'd like to see mom again soon."

Emma's eyes widened and now understood the reason for Regina's smile just before Henry came over. She wasn't sure how to respond, and therefor kept quiet. Henry just stared out of the window and kept quiet as well.

Hook looked through the small opening the curtains in front of the window allowed. Whale and the nurse had just left and the woman had fallen back asleep. She was known to him and he couldn't figure out why Cora wanted her.

The sound of heels clicking on the floor made him slip behind a closet door. From this point he could hardly see the person who was coming his way, but he did see it was a woman. The woman stopped in front of the door of the room he'd spent the last ten minutes in front of.

When the door closed, Hook slowly came out of his hiding place and made his way over to the window again. The woman who'd entered looked vaguely familiar. He saw her holding the hand of the woman lying in the bed with the utmost care. It was when she sat down, he got a glimpse of her face.

"Well, well, well," he mumbled and a smirk came to his face. "What a surprising turn of events. Let's see if the Queen is willing to make a deal." Now it made more sense to him as to why Cora wanted the young woman. Apparently her daughter and this woman had some sort of attachment to each other. He decided to leave and await his time to strike.

No one in town knew they had arrived. He had briefly met Snow White and her daughter when they had been in Fairytale Land. He wanted to help them go back, he wanted to be on the good side for once, but Emma's weariness resulted in him siding with Cora. It was a shame the portal closed the moment Snow White and Emma had gone through it. It would have brought them quicker to this new land. Then again, now they have his ship to stay at.

When he got back to his ship, Cora was awaiting him. "Where have you been?"

Hook merely smiled, which infuriated Cora even more. "Relax, I've been paying the building they call a hospital a visit, where the girl is. I must admit that I wonder about why you want the girl."

"As long as I know, you can keep wondering." The acid reply came before Cora turned around and walked to her chamber on the ship.

Hook shook his head, Cora still didn't trust him. And perhaps that was a good thing, because he was easily persuaded to the other side. As long as the other side had a more interesting deal to strike. And at this moment he was willing to strike a deal with the daughter of the woman who helped him come here to skin a crocodile.


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's note:** I'm so terribly sorry it has taken me so long to update. A combination of no inspiration, and busy times have kept me from updating. The muse has returned a little, so hopefully the next update will be much sooner.

I thank all that are following this story. And a special thanks to those who take the time to review, that's very much appreciated. I hope you all like this next chapter.

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**Chapter 6**

Snow White and Prince Charming were talking to Archie Hopper when Henry walked in, together with Emma. One look told Emma they had been talking about Regina and Wendy. She didn't know why she felt so shut out. Perhaps it was because they had been talking about it to Archie, instead of her. She didn't know Archie knew about all that had happened between Snow and Regina. "Yeah, well, we're home." She awkwardly said. She dropped her keys on the counter and walked to her room.

She'd been considering renting her own place for a while now. Ever since the curse broke it had been cramped in Mary-Margaret's little apartment. _'It certainly will avoid future scenes like this one.'_

Snow, was about to walk after her, but David grabbed her arm. "Let her be for a while, Snow."

Henry looked from the place his mother disappeared to, to his grandparents, to Archie. "It's my fault." He mumbled.

"Why do you think it's your fault, Henry?" Archie gently asked, shaking his head at Snow and David. They were about to tell their grandson it certainly wasn't his fault his mother was behaving the way she was.

"I was walking home from school when I saw mom sitting at one of the benches outside the hospital. We talked for a bit and it made me realise I really miss her. When ma drove by and gave me a lift home, I told her I wanted to see mom again."

Snow walked towards her grandson and engulfed him in a hug. "You have every right to see your mom." She whispered and Henry looked up with a tentative smile.

"I know who she is, I know what she's done, but I still miss her."

"Henry, she's been your mother for the past eleven years. She raised you, it's perfectly understandable and okay to miss her."

"I guess I miss how it used to be, you know, before I learned of the curse."

Snow didn't had a reply to that, so she simply hugged him closer. In the meantime David had let Archie out and went to see Emma. He knocked on the door frame and Emma looked up.

"Can I enter?"

A small nod was all that indicated that Emma had heard him and David entered. He sat down next to Emma on her bed, both stayed quiet for a while. Then David broke the silence by asking what it was that was bothering her. Emma was about to reply it was nothing, when David added she wasn't allowed to say it was nothing as he could clearly see something was bothering her.

"Is it that Snow and I were talking about Regina and Wendy to Archie? Or is it that Henry would like to see Regina again?" David observed his daughter and the first question hardly got any reaction at all, while the second made Emma cringe. 'Henry wanting to see Regina again it is.' He thought. "She's still his mother too, Emma. She raised him those past eleven years to the wonderful boy he is now. He has every right to see her if he wants to."

"That's just it!" Emma exclaimed and she stood up, pacing in the small room. "She raised him to be the wonderful boy he is now. I know that, what I don't understand that after all she has done, how she was capable in doing so." Emma turned around and looked at David. "And I don't understand why, after stubbornly refusing being in her presence for the past couple of months, he now suddenly wants to see her again. Nor do I understand why you and Snow -she had still trouble saying that name- are defending her all of a sudden." She added in a softer voice.

It was then, David understood. "Emma, just because Henry wants to see her again, doesn't mean he will not think of you as his mother anymore."

"It wouldn't be the first time he'd be doing that." Emma mumbled.

"He's never done that. When you and Snow were in our land, it became clear to me, that Henry still thinks of Regina as his mother too. But he's been too stubborn to tell her so. Regina had him back Emma, she took him, but she loves him enough to have let him come home with me, because that's what he wanted."

Emma had heard a lot of what happened in Storybrooke during her time in the Enchanted Forest. But what David just told her was new to her. David saw the surprised look on her face. "I take it Henry didn't tell you about it?" And Emma shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Emma said. And after a moment of silence,"no, you know what, it's not okay! You should have told me that!"

"And what would you have done with that piece of information? You and Snow are back home because of Regina. She willingly absorbed the curse she and Rumplestiltskin put on the well, so you could come back."

"She did it for Henry!" Emma replied fiercely.

David was losing his temper with Emma's stubbornness. "That doesn't change the fact she still willingly absorbed that curse, whether it was for Henry or not, it brought you and Snow back to us!"

"So you conveniently forget all the things that she's done to you both!"

"She deserves another chance."

"Oh, and you were so willing to give her another chance in your land." Emma honed.

David stood up. "When you've decided to act as an adult again, we'll talk." And with that said, he walked out of the room, back to Snow and Henry.

Emma sat down on her bed. She knew David was right, everyone deserves another chance. She had had other chances numerous of times. Who was she to deny Regina another chance? Hadn't it been her to invite Regina to the dinner party the town had organised because she and Snow had returned? Hadn't it been her, who had defended Regina when they'd first thought Archie had been murdered? Emma sighed in defeat. A knock on the door post made her look up.

Henry stood outside of the room. "Grandma sent me up to bed."

Emma gave a dry chuckle and looked at the alarm clock. "And she was right to do so. It is your bedtime."

Henry nodded, while Emma stood up to leave the room. "Ma, are you alright?"  
Emma turned around and smiled at her son. "I am Henry, I am."

Cora was pacing in what was her room on Hook's ship. She had hoped her plan of taking that damn cricket and made it look as if Regina had killed him, made her daughter realise those people never ever would trust her, let alone love her. She can't remember how many times she has told her daughter that love is weakness. But her plan was undermined by the cricket escaping and before she could have made her presence known to her daughter, he was able to make it clear that Regina wasn't the one to blame. Luckily he hadn't had known it had been her and Hook who had taken him.

"Time for plan number 2 to take action." Cora mumbled. She walked over to the small table and sat down on the chair. She opened one of the scrolls of paper that were lying there and looked over to what she had written down on it. It were notes she had made over the years. From the moment the child had been born. She had been monitoring the child's life closely, even had her live with her for a while unbeknownst to her mother. Being the product of true love, the child was one of the most powerful human beings besides the Dark Lord.

"If you believe in that sorta thing." Cora shook her head. She vaguely recalled a period in her live she had loved, but she had chosen power instead. And with choosing power, she had to take drastic measures to ensure her heart wouldn't betray her. She'd never married Henry Mills for anything other than his status. That and she wanted her revenge on the way his sister had treated her all those years.

She stood up, left the small space she called her room and went up to deck. Hook was nowhere to be found, which didn't really surprised Cora. Carefully she left the ship and once standing on the dock, she changed her appearance. _'It won't do if I get recognised by the few people in this town who actually know what I look like.'_ A quick look in one of the windows she passed, made her nod in acceptance. She was satisfied with the way she looked, knowing that the people in town were not able to tell who she really was and a purple mist indicated she had left the dock to places unknown to everyone but her.

Unbeknownst to her, Hook had noticed Cora leaving her hut and then the ship. He had been in his own when he noticed the small creak the door of her hut made when being opened and closed. He followed her carefully, noticing her shapeshifting and then her disappearance from the docks. He waited a few more minutes, making sure she had really left and then went back inside. He tried to enter Cora's hut, only to find it locked. "Damn."

Hook had hoped he would have been able to enter to find evidence of Cora's appearance in this small town called Storybrooke where the Queen had taken residence to convince her about the looming doom. And therefor hoping he would have been able to make a deal with said Queen. Knowing it would be a hard bargain, he was willing to take the chance and he too left the confines of his ship. Making sure he wouldn't be seen, he went back to the town hospital, knowing it would be there where he could find her, hoping Cora didn't get to her before he did.

He was lucky. He saw Cora making her way over to an enormous white house, that rather looked abandoned at the moment. _'If she's going to go that way, she's not going to that place they call the hospital.'_ Hook thought. _'Something tells me, that's where the Queen is at the moment. I don't know what Cora is planning, but if she wants her daughter back in her clutches, she's not really doing a good job at finding her. Nor does it make any sense why she wants the girl.'_

Little did Hook know, that Cora had noticed his presence, even though he was miles away. And little did he know, that Cora was heading to that enormous mansion to find something to blackmail her daughter back to her.

While Regina had been waiting for being allowed back into the hospital room, she'd called this Peter guy, Wendy had been talking about. The young woman had been right, Peter had been extremely worried when he hadn't heard from her. After day one, he'd packed his bags and took the first available plane to the USA. In fact, he'd just arrived at the hotel he knew Wendy was supposed to be staying at, when she'd called him. She thought back to the conversation.

_"Hello?"_

_"Hello, is this Mr. Herd I'm speaking to?"_

_"Yes. Yes, you are. May I ask who's calling?"_

_"My name is Regina Mills. I live in a small town in Maine, called Storybrooke."_

_"I've heard of it, yes, my fiancee is supposed to go to it soon."_

_"Well, yes, we've had a visitor indeed. We hardly have people coming over to our town, so we do notice these kinds of things. You're fiancee's name, that would be Wendy Darling, am I right?"_

_"You're right. But why are you calling me? Did something happen to her?"_

_"She's been in a car accident. She's been in the hospital these past four days, unconscious. She has just woken up. If I could have, I'd have called you sooner Mr. Herd, but unfortunately most of Miss Darling's possessions have been burned along with the rental car. Only her handbag survived and we couldn't find any contact details in that." _

_"Is she alright?"_

_"She's being examined right now, Mr. Herd."_

_"I'm on my way, please tell her that I'm on my way. I've just arrived at the hotel, all I need to do is check out and I'll be on my hours tops."_

_"I'll make sure she'll gets the message Mr. Herd. Drive carefully, and make sure to call the sheriff's office when you've arrived at the welcome sign."_

And that was when she had disconnected the call. Sure enough, he'd sounded quite concerned for Wendy's well-being. But she still couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that came over her. As if she was supposed to know the person behind the voice. She quickly dismissed the thought and made her way back to Wendy. Regina entered the room and looked at the young woman. "So, what did Dr. Whale say?"

Wendy, who'd been in her own thoughts, was shaken out of her stupor and looked up at Regina. "He said I've been very lucky. He's letting me out the moment I've been able to walk on my own."

Regina smiled, "that's good news," but one look at Wendy's face made her question that. "It is good news, right?"

Wendy shrugged, "I guess so."

"What is bothering you, my dear?"

Wendy looked at Regina and once again the feeling of peacefulness made it self known. Somehow she knew she could trust this woman to always protect her, but the reason why Regina would do so was still a mystery to her. "I'm not sure. I have this feeling something bad is going to happen."

Regina smiled a comforting smile. "What could possibly happen?"

Wendy shrugged her shoulders. "I wouldn't know, it's just a feeling. I've had it ever since I was little and usually the feeling was right."

Regina got a faraway look in her eyes, clearly remembering something, Wendy could tell. It only lasted a moment and the brunette woman told her not to worry, she should try and get some more sleep. "I'll be back tomorrow morning."

Wendy nodded and closed her eyes, asleep within minutes and not noticing Regina placed a protective spell on both her and the room.

Cora Mills was angry, very angry. She had gone to the house her daughter had taken residence in. She had seen pictures of her with a little boy. A plaque with the imprint of a small hand and the words _To mommy_ made her realise that somehow her daughter had become a mother to this boy. The same boy she had seen close to Snow White, Prince Charming and the Savior. There was no way she would be able to get close to the boy to get back at her daughter. That left her only with one option and she made her move. Black smoke surrounded her and she disappeared, only to reappear in the hospital room Wendy still occupied. With one move of her hand, Cora tied the young woman with invincible ropes.

The sudden tightness woke Wendy up. Confused she looked around and her confusion made place for fear when she saw the older woman standing in front of her. She tried to sit up, but the bounds held her in place. "Who are you? What do you want? Why can't I move?"

Cora slowly walked nearer. "Questions, questions, you have a lot of them."

Wendy continued staring with fear. She was positive she'd never seen this strangely dressed woman before, but something in the back of her mind told her this woman was dangerous and that she'd experienced that kind of danger before.

"I'm sure you don't mind if I don't answer them at the moment, do you? I'm kind if in a hurry." With a wave of her hand, Cora transported both herself and Wendy out of the hospital room.

At the exact moment Regina was about to enter the room. She had forgotten her handbag and went back for it. She felt the trickle of magic in the air and when she opened the door, all she saw was black smoke. The smell of burned wood hung in the air, which made Regina realise who was responsible for the magic she felt a moment ago. _'How's that possible? How can her magic repel mine?'_ The silence in the room was deafening. "Wendy? Wendy?!" A feeling of fear made its presence known, a fear that was confirmed the moment the room was clear of the smoke and Regina saw the empty bed in front of her.


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's note: **Another update and even sooner than I anticipated. Hopefully my muse will play nice and let me work on the next chapter this weekend as well. Thanks to those who reviewed, it means a lot to me. To those who just read a thank you as well. I'm more of a lurker myself as well, so I understand when people do not review. But I also understand how annoying it can feel to the writers that people take time to read and not review =D . Oh well, I really do hope you enjoy this chapter.

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**Chapter 7**

Regina sank to her knees the moment she saw the empty bed. "No. No!"

Snow, who was wondering how Wendy was doing, had just rounded the corner when she heard the anguished cry. She hurried to the place it came from and when she entered she stood stock still. Near the bed she saw Regina sitting on her knees, her body wracking with sobs. Her eyes then went up to the bed, to find it empty. Snow didn't hesitate and quickly made her way over to Regina and enveloped her stepmother in a hug.

Regina stiffened when she felt arms around her. When she heard Snow whispering in her ear they'd help her, she tried to get out of the hug. She couldn't let Snow White, of all people, see her weak. Snow, however, hugged her tighter. Eventually Regina gave up the struggle to get out of the hug and the need not to break down in front of her stepdaughter.

They sat like that for a long time, until only the occasional sniffle could be heard. Slowly Snow pulled back to look at the woman in front of her. "Do you have any idea who might have taken her?"

Regina took a deep breath. She didn't understand why all of a sudden, Snow White was acting nice and she blurted the thought out. Snow smiled sadly and told her she thought it was time to try and stop hurting each other, that they have done enough of that to last a life time. Regina's eyes closed for a moment, willing away the tears that once again threatened to fall. She took another deep breath and then nodded.

"Alright, let's try. And yes, I might have an idea who has taken her: my mother."

Snow her eyes widened. "Cora's here?" And then another thought occurred, "What if shes's been the one who took Archie?"

"Makes sense," Regina said, "She's able to shape-shift after all."

Snow nodded, in Fairytale Land she had witnessed that ability first hand. "I'm sorry we didn't think of that and instantly accused you of hurting Archie."

Regina forced herself to tell Snow her apology was accepted, it wouldn't do good if they'd just called some sort of truce and she would not accept it.

"Come on, Regina." Snow had moved to the hallway.

Regina looked at her confused. "Where to?"

"My place, we're going to need all the help we can get to get Wendy back to you." That said, Snow turned around and walked down the hall way of the hospital.

Regina followed her reluctantly, not sure what to expect and still not sure why Snow was helping her. _'People who are helping you after a life long feud, always have an ulterior motive.'_ It's all she's ever known, help from people who expecting something from her in return. Never once had someone helped simply because they wanted to. Daniel had been the only one who'd ever done that, Daniel and his sister.

Cora had magicked both of them back to Hook's ship. They landed on deck; Cora gracefully, Wendy fell down hard, her legs still not able to support her weight. Cora did nothing to help her up, instead she yelled for Hook to come up to deck. The man had heard the thud of their arrival, he'd seen Wendy fall on deck and after several yells he decided to make his presence known.

Cora had heard the door open and turned around. "Finally!" She snapped. "I want you to make sure she doesn't escape." A nod with her head to Wendy made clear who she meant. "If she's giving you any trouble at all, feel free to punish her as you see fit."

Hook stood impassive in front of Cora. "Well, what are you waiting for?" The woman demanded. But still Hook did nothing but standing there. Cora looked at the rugged man in front of her. She walked into the man's personal space. "You forget, Hook, that you're here because of me. It's because of me, that you are able to get your revenge on Rumplestiltskin. Compared to that, it's only a small favour I ask of you."

Hook knew he needed to change his plans of making a deal with the Queen, now that the young woman was in Cora's clutches. A shame, really, he remembered a time long ago, when he'd first met her, but he doubted she still remembered him, remembered her time in that place. Her soft voice saying his name broke his thoughts and he made up his mind. He snorted, "A small favour? You call _that_ a small favour? I'm perfectly aware how things will end, Cora. You really are going to let an innocent person suffer for your revenge?" Disbelief was heard in his voice, together with a little defiance. "I don't want to be part of that!"

"Oh, don't get a conscious now, Hook! It doesn't become you!"

Hook turned around and walked away, but he found himself unable to do so. Cora slowly made her way over to him, so she could look him in the eyes.

"You'd want to do wise and let me go." He gritted his teeth.

Cora remained unimpressed by the underlying threat in Hook's words. Instead she simply smirked. Hook felt invisible bounds tighten around his body, but he refused to give in. It wasn't until he'd spent several minutes without air and hearing Wendy cry out his name and telling him she wasn't worth it, he gave his consent.

"Smart boy," Cora said belittling. "Now, make sure she doesn't escape. If you've done that, come back here. We'll be going home."

Hook sadly looked at Wendy. "I'm sorry, darling."

Wendy smiled a sad smile at him and told him it was okay.

"Can you stand?"

She tried, she really did, but she kept falling back on deck. Hook knew enough and he scooped her up, bringing her below deck. Wendy knew he had to tie her, to make sure she wouldn't escape and she brought her hands together.

"I'm so, so sorry."

"It's okay, Killian. Please try and contact Regina for me? She's been so nice to me, staying with me and all."

"I'll see what I can do." He silently tied her, then took a rag and made sure she couldn't utter a word. He stood up and walked to the door, there he turned around one more time, before he once again went to Cora.

Snow had relayed the things that happened to the people that were gathered in her small living room. All the while Regina had stood against the farthest wall, her arms wrapped around herself.

Snow had fairly quickly convinced the people there they needed to save Wendy out of the clutches of Cora, they'd even come up with several ideas of how to save her. As usual they followed her without a moments hesitation.

"I see the need to save the girl from Cora." Leroy said. He knew how vile Cora could be. "But I don't see why Cora took her in the first place, and I think, my dearest Snow, you know more than you're telling us." He looked around the room and besides the crimson that started to colour Snow's face, Emma, Henry and Charming also had the grace to look slightly caught. Leroy instantly realised that they also knew why Cora had taken Wendy. "Before we help you, we want to know the reason." And to make his point across, he crossed his arms. The other dwarves, Ruby, Granny, Archie, the Blue Fairy and Marco nodded in agreement.

Regina, who'd kept silent all that time softly said. "Cora took her, because she's my daughter."

All eyes turned to her instantly. "Say what again?" It was Blue who said that. While Leroy exclaimed: "Nice going, sista!" Granny muttered she had thought the girl looked familiar and Archie simply nodded.

"I understand if you don't want to help free her now." Regina hugged herself tighter, trying her hardest to keep her emotions in check.

Archie walked over to her and took her hands in his own. "Don't be ridiculous, Regina. Of course we are still helping to free her."

Snow smiled at Archie, "And we better be quick, so Regina can tell her."

Ruby's eyes grew wide. "She doesn't know?"

Regina shook her head and Snow knew the other woman did not had the strength at the moment to tell to story. "It's a long story," she said, "one best kept for the time that Wendy is safe among us again." She looked at everyone. "We better get started. Let's split up. Emma, you, Archie and Granny form a team." They nodded and Emma said they would start searching near the docks. "Blue, can you together with the boys search the forest?" They too nodded. "Leroy, please can you and Regina together search here in town?"

Leroy agreed instantly and said: "Come along, Your Evilness. We are getting started."

Everyone became eerily silent and looked at what Regina would be going to do. Never once had they thought they would hear the former Evil Queen laugh so carefree. "Sure dwarf, lead the way." Regina smiled to soften the tone with which it was said, but Leroy had understood the way she meant it and smirked back at her.

"Ruby and Marco, could you two keep an eye on Henry?" Both nod their consent.

This question from Snow gets a lot of protest from Henry who tells them he wants to help find her. Both Emma and Regina tell him that they'd feel much more comfortable searching for Wendy when they know he's safe and far, far away from Cora. Henry looked at both his mothers and seeing their serious look, he relents. "Alright, I'll stay with Ruby and Marco." He sighed.

Everyone knew what to do and where to search and all went on their way. Snow and Charming also started searching the forest, as a large part of Storybrook was forest. About half an hour into their search for Wendy, there was a loud thunder-like sound. People looked at it each other questionably, not knowing what to expect. When another thunder-like sound was heard and the earth started to shake as if an earthquake was occurring, everyone knew something was going to happen. It wasn't until a dark black cloud surrounded every citizen of Storybrooke, people had an inkling of what was about to happen.

The ship sailed right into the whirlpool, parts of the dark cloud already starting to surround it. Hook did his best to keep out of the cloud as much as possible. According to Cora, the whirlpool would bring them home, the cloud would destroy Storybrooke. Just in time he managed to get the ship out of the cloud and into the bumpy sail the whirlpool would cause for the ship.

Cora had gone to her cabin, Hook couldn't care less how she would come out of this bumpy trip back home. He did hope Wendy would remain unscratched, she had no idea what was going on, and she had hardly anything to hold on to, being tied up. Hook vowed that when they got to calmer waters, and therefor would be back in Fairytale Land, he'd check on her. For now, all he could do was hold on tight himself and hope for the best.

Peter Herd had stopped the car in front of the town sign as he was told by the woman who'd called him and told him about what had happened to Wendy. She had also told him someone would be awaiting him at this exact spot, if he remembered correctly, she had told him the sheriff would be here.

He looked around, so far he was the only one there. He was about to step back into his rental car to drive into town, when he heard the rumbling and felt the tremors. A large rock came crashing down the hill and he was just in time to grab his bag before the rock crashed onto his car, destroying it completely. There rested no other option than to walk into the small town.

He took a look at the _'Welcome to Storybrooke'_ sign. Then he walked past it, determined to get into town as quickly as possible. He was extremely worried about Wendy, and he needed to see for himself that she was alright. He had walked for about fifteen minutes when he saw a dark cloud coming his way. The moment the cloud hit him, he started to remember. It was also the moment the earth beneath his feet split in two and he started the fall. The last thing he thought before he blacked out was that Storybrooke was about to cease to exist.


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's note:** Hello everyone, I'm terrible sorry it has taken me such a long time to update this story. I haven't forgotten it, I simply did not have the time at all to write. July was the month work demanded a lot of attention (end of school year stuff - every teacher knows how that goes) and when I did finally have summer break, I had my vacation trip. But I'm back, and here's a new chapter for you all to enjoy. I simply hope people haven't given up on my story yet.

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**Chapter 8**

And then they were back all of a sudden. Back in Fairytale Land, their homeland, the land Snow and Emma had visited while they hadn't meant to at all, the land that they all thought had been destroyed. It had looked destroyed when Snow and Emma had been here months ago, but they had seen that the people who apparently had been left behind had tried to rebuild their homes.

Snow White looked around frantically, noticing David was with her. Which made sense, they had been together when the dark cloud had hit them. Emma and Henry, however, were nowhere to be seen. As well as Regina and the rest of their friends, or the rest of the citizens of Storybrooke. Frantically the fair Queen stood up and looked around, but how good she looked, there was no sign of her daughter and grandson.

David had also stood up and made his way over to his wife. Catching her elbow, he noticed her anxiousness. "I'm sure they are fine, Snow," he soothed. "Come on, let's find how to get to everyone else."

"But what if..."

"They'll find us, Snow. Family always finds each other, remember?"

"What about Regina?"

"For her it's the same, as I'm pretty sure you never stopped thinking of her as anything other than your new mother."

Snow nodded, knowing that David was speaking the truth. She did consider Regina still her mother, part of her family and family always finds each other. So, together Snow White and her Prince Charming, started walking. Not knowing where their journey would end, neither knowing what had happened to everyone else.

When Regina regained consciousness, she noticed several things at once. Firstly she was lying on the forest ground, indicating she was no longer in Storybrooke searching for Wendy. The second thing was that she could neither move her hands nor her feet and the ropes holding her were cutting of her blood circulation. The last thing she noticed was someone prodding her with something that felt like a branch.

"Go get King George! I think she's waking up!" The person who was prodding her said to someone else. The voice definitely belonged to a man. _'Probably one of George's guards.'_ And with that thought came a startling realisation and Regina felt as if her breath was knocked out of her lungs. _'We're back! He referred to Albert Spencer as King George! How? Henry? Where's Henry? And Snow? And Wendy? We were looking for Wendy.'_

Time to let the new information really sink in, wasn't there. King George had come over and roughly pulled Regina to her feet. Dizziness claimed her and she had to do more than best not to fall down on her knees.

"Well, well, well, your majesty," King George sneered. "What an awful predicament you find yourself in, it seems."

Regina pushed herself to her limit to try and stand as regal as she could with her hands and feet bound. Never speaking a word, a look of indifference and haughtiness claimed her face.

"So, tell me, your majesty, who's going to save you now?" King George jabbed.

"I..." Henry tried to yell but Emma had clamped her hand over the boy's mouth. The moment they regained consciousness, they'd started their search for the others and they'd stumbled upon Albert Spencer and, apparently, his guards. It was then Henry had noticed his other mother lying on the ground and they hid behind the bushes and the trees.

"Shhh," she said. "Be quiet, they don't know we are here. Let's keep that element of surprise."

"But he's going to hurt my mom!" Henry almost yelled, but just in time he remembered to keep quiet and it came out an angry whisper.

"I won't let them hurt Regina, Henry." Emma stroked his hair. "But we need a plan to save her. We can't just barge in and wing it. There's like fifty of them and only two of us." No sooner had she said this or she heard the voice of Mary Margaret -Emma still had a hard time to call her Snow White- called out to her and Henry. Both of them turned around and shushed her, earning them a confused look from both Mary Margaret and David.

Henry had turned his attention back to his other mother and he gasped when he saw she had been taken away from the place she had stood just a moment ago. "She's gone, they've taken her!" He cried and buried his face against Emma. The blonde looked at the spot she'd last seen Regina to find her son was right. Regina was no longer standing where she had been standing a mere moment ago. There was no telling where she'd been brought to.

"We saw Regina," Emma explained to her parents. "Albert Spencer had her bound, it ..." she trailed of, not wanting to say what she thought in front of Henry, but both Snow and David got the message clearly.

"King George has been trying to get to this point for years." David says.

"We need to save her." Henry exclaimed.

"We certainly are going to, sweetheart." Snow said. "But we need a plan. We can't just barge in and wing it."

"That's what ma said as well." Henry looked thoughtful for a moment. Then his eyes started shining. "What if..." and quickly he told his mother and grandparents about the plan he thought of to save his other mother.

Cora noticed the ship's movements finally had calmed down. She stood up and walked out onto deck. A quick look around and she saw Hook standing at the helm, looking straight ahead. She had a pretty good idea, he knew she was up on deck. She smiled wickedly.

Hook felt Cora come up, but he refused to look her way. After fifteen minutes of being watched by Cora, his anxiousness was top notch. He left the helm and he went below deck. As soon as the ship had hit the calm water, he'd wanted to check on Wendy, but Cora coming up instantly as well, sort of prevented that. When he got down, he turned right and entered a small room.

On the ground sat Wendy, hands and feet bound and gagged. Hook moved closer and removed the gag. "Are you alright?"

Wendy nodded, "yes." Her voice was raspy. Hook quickly got a mug and filled it with water. Wendy drank eagerly from it. "Thank you, Killian."

Hook nodded in acknowledgement. "How is it possible that you still remember me? The last time we saw each other you were twelve."

"Because you haven't changed one bit, Killian. How's that even possible? Surely you've not stayed in Neverland all this time?"

"No I haven't, I've simply been out and about." He put the mug away, and it was when he turned around he saw it. A small red stripe on the left side of her face. Instantly he was at her side. "You're hurt."

Wendy shook her head, "it's nothing."

But Hook would have none of it and quickly cleaned out the wound on her head and bandaged it. Then he cleaned her face.

"Awww, this is cute."

Both Wendy and Hook looked up and saw Cora standing in the door opening. Hook unconsciously moved in front of Wendy. Cora noticed this and stored this information away for later use.

"What is it that you want?!"

"There's no need to be so hostile, Hook. I'm merely stating a fact."

"You're never merely stating a fact, Cora. That _is_ a fact."

"Touché," Cora agreed. "We're going on a little walk, Hook, and she is coming along."

While Hook's eyes narrowed, Wendy's eyes widened. Both knew there was not much they could do about it, other than comply. Hook silently unbound Wendy's feet, so she was able to stand and walk. He helped her up, and steadied her. Their eyes were holding a conversation Cora couldn't understand and she didn't like that.

"Well, ladies first." And she yanked Wendy in front of her. The young woman had to do her best not to fall down again, after being pushed so roughly by Cora. Slowly they made their way to their destination; unknown to two, very well known to one.

"Is he dead?" One of the boys asked.

"I don't think so. I see his chest rising and must mean he's breathing." Another replied, clearly the leader.

"Are you sure it's really him?"

"Yes, I am."

"It doesn't look like him." A third one said. "He's all grown up."

"Well, that's what happens when you leave Neverland. You know what happened to Killian when he left all those years ago. He was all grown up when he came back."

The boys nodded, clearly remembering their old friend who had gone and left Neverland all those years ago when he'd been still a teenager and when they saw him again, he'd been an adult.

"Do you think he will remember us?" The youngest boy asked.

"I don't know," the older one said. "I do know that we can't leave him here. Either the mermaids or the indians will get to him and I don't think they're memories of him are alike ours."

Quickly and quietly, as they've always had, they made a stretcher out of branches and leaves. Once they'd finished, they carefully put the man they'd been speaking of on the stretcher. They took turns carrying the stretcher and when they got back to their camp, the other boys had gathered around the gate.

"Is it him? Is it really him? Has he returned?" The whispers carried through the camp.

The man was brought to one of the sleeping tents and carefully laid down. In the half hour it had taken the boys to go from the beach to their camp, the man hadn't shown any sign of regaining consciousness anytime soon. The youngest boy that had been among them got the task of keeping an eye on their patient and notify his leader of any changes.


	10. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** A thank you to those of you who have apparently read my story, the new followers and the one person who reviewed the last chapter (you know who you are). The muse apparently has returned at the moment, so enjoy the new chapter.

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**Chapter 9**

Slowly the Charming family had made their way over to King George's camp. Henry had come up with a risky idea to save his adoptive mother, but it was all they could try at the moment. Snow and Charming saw their daughter and grandson walk into King George's camp with a nonchalance they knew neither felt.

Henry looked around, making it appear he was looking for something. One of the guards stopped him and asked him what he was looking for, offering his help. It was then that King George appeared as well.

"Prince Henry, it's good to see you made it to our land okay."

Emma's eyes narrowed. She had never particularly liked Albert Spencer back in Storybrooke and she had her walls up immediately he came walking out of the tent. She saw Henry straighten his back in an attempt to appear more confident than he actually felt.

"Thank you, mr. Spencer."

"It's King George now, Prince Henry."

"I'm sorry, sir."

"It's quite alright, boy. So, what can we help you with?"

_'This is it,' _Henry thought. _'I need to play it cool now and hope he doesn't suspect anything.'_ He took a deep breath and answered the question: "I'm looking for my mom, have you, by any chance, seen her?"

Snow and Charming had stayed behind and they saw the fleeting look King George sent towards the tent he had just left. It made them realize Regina was probably in the tent. One look at each other was all it took and they quickly and quietly left their hiding spot and tried to make their way over to the back of the tent. Emma and Henry had also noticed the fleeting look, but knew they couldn't do anything about it and they had to rely on Snow and Charming for this.

"But my boy, she's standing right behind you." King George answered and Emma grimaced. Omitting the question wasn't what they'd hoped for.

Henry took a look back at Emma, then turned his attention back to King George. "I know. I meant my other mom."

"I'm sorry, Henry, I have no idea where she is."

And that was the answer they'd hope they'd get. A more blatant lie couldn't have been said. First of all, they knew Regina was in his camp. Secondly, Emma's inner lie detector went off like crazy. _'Good to know, it still works.'_ She thought.

"Are you sure, you haven't seen her?" Henry prodded and King George nodded.

It was then that Emma spoke and called him out on his lie. "I think you know perfectly well where Regina is."

The look on King George's face forebode nothing good. "I think you and the young prince have overstepped my hospitality, princess. I advice you to leave."

"Oh, you do? Well, then, we better get going then. Henry, come on. Even though we know the _'good' _King is lying to us, we mustn't keep him from his duties any longer."

"But Ma…"

"No buts, Henry, come along now."

With one angry look back at King George, Henry followed Emma. But instead of going back the way they came from, Emma walked right into King George's camp. Henry couldn't help but smirk at his mother's tactic when he heard King George's exasperated sigh and footsteps following them.

"Miss Swan, I think I asked you to leave my camp."

"And we are, but we're going the other way we came from. I'd appreciate it if you'd accompanied us, just to make sure we're really leaving."

Regina had heard the whole conversation that went on outside the tent she'd been put in. She felt relieved to know that Henry cared that much about her to come and look for her. She tried to get rid of the gag that been put in her mouth, but that was quite the challenge with her hands bound behind her. She could hear King George tell Henry he hadn't seen her, and with all her might she tried to make some sort of noise to let her boy know, not to believe what he was being told. When she finally heard Emma tell Henry to come along, a sob escaped her. They were going to leave her here.

She had been so focused on letting Henry and Emma know she was right there, she hadn't noticed Snow entering the tent from the back. The feeling of hands untying her own made her look back instantly and she looked right into the face of Snow White. The younger woman brought her finger to her lips, the indication as to why was clear to Regina and she nodded. Snow removed the gag, then returned to untying the rope around her stepmothers hands. When her hands were free, Regina rubbed her wrists softly, noticing the marks the rope had left. Snow quickly untied the rope around Regina's ankles, which were not as vastly tied as the rope around her wrists had been. Once Regina was completely freed, Snow softly grabbed one of her stepmothers hands and softly pulled her along to the back of the tent. Outside stood Charming, on guard. No words were spoken, a look was enough and they quickly and quietly left King George's camp.

They walked for about ten minutes when Snow put her hand on Charming's arm, making him stop as well. Snow looking back, made Charming look back too. They noticed Regina had a hard time keeping up and when she got closer they noticed her limping.

"Regina, you're hurt!, why didn't you tell us?" Snow rushed to her side to offer assistance.

A sarcastic retort and turning down the help came quickly, but Regina pushed the urge to lash out away, accepting Snow's help. "I just wanted to get out of there."

While Snow helped Regina over to a fallen tree, Henry and Emma met up with them. Noticing his mother limping and needing help from his grandmother, Henry rushed over to her. "Did he hurt you?" spilt from his lips when he came near.

Regina opened her arms and in an instant Henry was hugging his adoptive mother. "I think I sprained it when we arrived here. I must have landed badly, I can't remember. He didn't hurt me."

Emma noticed the marks on Regina's wrists when she was hugging Henry, but kept silent. The slight grimace on her face when Henry slightly moved against them, told Emma more than enough.

"Regina, do you think you can walk some more? I don't like the fact, we're still relatively close to Spencer's camp site.

Henry looked up at his adoptive mother with hope in his eyes. "Can you, mom?"

"I think I can manage that. Let's go."

The first thing Peter noticed was the softness he was lying on. It brought back memories of a life he lived a long time ago. The second thing he noticed was the insistent fluttering around his head, together with the soft tinkling the creature made. He slapped the small creature away and turned around, sinking back into the softness.

The creature was sent flying towards one of the walls with an immense speed. Just as it was about to hit the wall, it stopped and kept hovering for a minute, shaking it's head to clear it's vision. Then it flew back to where it had been before it got slapped away and started the insistent fluttering and tinkling again.

Peter grabbed the pillow and pulled it over his head. "Tink, stop it!" The moment he'd said the words, he shot up. "Tink? Tinkerbell?"

The creature that had been fluttering and tinkling around Peter before, was now hovering in front of his face, clearly angry and giving the man a hard time.

"Tink, I'm sorry, alright?!"

"It's of no use, she'll stay angry with you for a while."

Peter turned around to where the voice came from, and he saw a teenage boy standing in the door opening. "Rufio?"

The boy came closer. "You still remember, Peter."

"Only recently."

Rufio raised an eyebrow and eyed Peter. "You've changed."

Peter nodded, "I've grown up."

"It suits you," Rufio said.

"It suits you," a high-pitched voice mimicked.

Peter looked up and saw Tinkerbell rolling her eyes. The moment she noticed him looked at her, she turned around with a huff. Peter couldn't help but smile at the familiarity of it all.

"You're up to telling us about all that has happened in the time you've been away from Neverland?" Rufio asked Peter. "I know the other boys are rather curious how the world outside is and what you've been up to."

Peter nodded, "sure, let's start. I'm rather curious myself what you boys have been doing in my absence."


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's note:** Enjoy chapter 10. I hope people will take the time to review =).

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**Chapter 10**

Peter and his Lost Boys had spent the rest of the afternoon talking about all that had happened in all those years they were separated. In that time he had told the boys about what had happened to him in that time period. How he'd gone to the world Wendy lived it, and how he lost his memories of who he'd been once he got there. How, many years later, when they'd both grown up and went to college, they'd met again and had fallen in love.

"So, she's really going to be our mother now?" Ace, the youngest boy asked and Peter smiled and told him they would see how it would go.

"So, what happened here?"

Rufio shrugged his shoulders. "The usual, both the indians and the mermaids still want us out of the way."

"What about the pirates?"

"Killian left," Ace piped up. "I miss him."

Peter looked from Ace to Rufio, seeking confirmation of what he'd just heard. A nod from Rufio made clear, that he'd heard it right. "Killian left? Just like that?"

"Well, he came back again after a while," one of the other boys said, "there was this woman he'd brought with him, but they left again pretty quickly."

Rufio, looked at Peter. "He came back alone after a couple of months had passed. But he had changed. His whole demeanor was darker and he was always fighting the indians."

Peter looked thoughtful. What the boys were telling him, didn't sound like Killian at all.

"Yeah," Ace said. "And the second time he came back, his left hand was missing, instead he had a hook there. And when this woman came, she called him Hook, instead of Killian Jones."

Peter knew something bad had happened to their old friend. He remembered the time when Wendy had been taken by the indians… "Wendy…"

The lost boys knew what their former leader was thinking. They immediately stood up and told Peter they would help him find his way back to her. Tinkerbell came flying to him and softly landed on his shoulder. Her tinkling let him know that she too, would help him find his way back.

Their walk had been slow, even though Regina tried to hide and deny it, her ankle hurt immensely and walking on it was an enormous challenge. When they'd been on their way for about half an hour, a rustling in the bushes and trees around them was hurt. Everyone stood still, their eyes scanning their surroundings and holding their breath.

It was when Granny and Red submerged not that long after, they started breathing again. Snow sprinted over to her friend and hugged her. "It's so good to see you again!" and then she hugged Granny as well, telling her the same.

"Have you seen the others?" Granny asked and Snow shook her head, telling her they were the first they encountered.

"Well, that's not entirely true," Henry said. "You and grandpa were dropped together as were I and ma and mom. Well, sort of anyway."

It was then that Granny and Red noticed Regina. They bowed slightly, mumbling a _"Your Majesty"_. Regina acknowledge their manners with a nod of her head. She slowly stumbled to one of the logs she'd seen to sit on and get her weight of her injured foot. Red and Granny saw Regina stumble to the log and in an instant they were helping her.

The former queen wasn't used to all the help she was receiving and brushed it off, telling them it was nothing. Granny sat Regina down and took her ankle in her hand. Even though she did it very gently, it hurt Regina and a pained gasp escaped her. One look at the ankle and Granny knew enough. "Snow, get me some branches that I could use as a splint, will you?" The pixie-haired woman did as she was asked, her husband followed her.

Hearing the word splint made Henry flinch. "What do you need to use a splint for?"

Granny looked at the boy, a grim smile on her face when she answered him. "Because, splints are used when you need to immobilize limbs, Henry. I think you're more familiar with the word cast."

"But that's used when you've broken a bone." Henry looked at his mother, who looked apologetically back at him. He sat down beside her on the log. "You knew?"

"That my ankle was broken?" And when Henry nodded, so did she. "We needed to leave that place, and they only way to do that was by walking."

"Which you are not supposed to do anymore, Your Majesty." Granny said and she took the branches Snow had returned with.

Emma, who had not said anything yet, put her hand on Granny's shoulder. "Regina, is it possible to heal broken bones with magic?"

Regina looked up at the blonde. "Theoretically, yes, but I've never once seen someone been able to do so."

"But, theoretically, it is possible." Emma repeated and Regina slowly nodded.

Emma kneeled down and softly touched Regina's ankle. A soft white glow emerged from her hands. Regina's eyes widened, she felt a tingling warmth, a feeling that wasn't entirely comfortable, but it also wasn't uncomfortable. The pain in her ankle subsided and she felt the bones slowly heal.

When she knew the bones were healed, Emma held out her hand to help Regina up. Regina softly took her hand and tried to stand up. She stood unsteady on her two feet for a moment. But when she tried to walk a few steps, she noticed it went much easier.

The others there looked on in amazement. They knew Emma had magic, but she had hardly used it, hardly knew how to use it. And now she had used her magic to heal Regina's broken ankle as if it were the most normal thing to do.

"You did it, ma!" Henry said excited. "You healed mom's ankle!"

Emma smiled at her son, "yeah, I did it."

Regina looked at the woman she'd wished gone for most of the past year. She had no reason at all to help her, and still, she constantly did so. "Thank you, Emma."

Emma looked up. Hearing Regina call her by her first name is a very rare occurrence, but one that wasn't entirely unwelcome. "You're welcome, Regina."

It had taken Peter and his Lost Boys half a day to make it to the Enchanted Forest. Thanks to Tinkerbell, they were able to fly there. Peter came to the conclusion, flying was just like swimming; once learned, one would never forget how to do so. Once they had arrived in the Enchanted Forest, they softly landed and continued by foot.

Rufio had taken the lead, while Ace walked ahead from time to time. Peter had no idea where Wendy was, but his heart was telling him, they were going in the right direction. Much time to dwell on it, wasn't there. He'd noticed that Ace had wandered off to the site. Quietly, not knowing who else might be around, he called for Rufio to stop and motioned to the direction Ace had gone to.

Peter walked through the bushes until he saw Ace crouched behind one. "Hey buddy, what are you doing here?"

Ace looked up, motioned to Peter to be silent and then pointed in front of him. "It's Killian," he whispered. "But I have no idea who the two women are, that are with him. It doesn't look good though, one of them looks tight to the tree, but I can't see any ropes."

Rufio and the other Lost Boys had followed up and also crouched down behind the bushes Peter and Ace were using. "Look who we have here," Rufio silently sneered.

Peter's eyes were drawn the woman against the tree. "Wendy." He whispered.

Rufio looked from Peter to the woman and he instantly recognized the young woman, even though she had grown up as well. "Peter, we can't barge in there, we need to make a plan to get her away. The other woman looks dangerous. And I don't know what Killian will do once he sees us."

Peter nodded, knowing Rufio was right. The other woman looked quite dangerous. Seeing now rope which held Wendy, she probably was using magic to hold her in place. So they gathered in a circle and started to make a plan to free Wendy.

Cora walked around the woman she'd magically tied to the tree. "That's how you do it, Hook!" She said, not bothering to turn around to look at the man she was speaking to. Then she spoke to the woman, an evil sneer evident on her face. "And I should have killed you as the king demanded. Love is weakness!"

"What do you mean?" The woman exclaimed. "Killian, what is she talking about?"

"Wendy…" But Hook couldn't say more, because he felt that anything he would say would be even more of a betrayal than saying nothing at all.

"What I mean, dear, is that I never should have allowed my daughter to convince me to let you live."

Hidden behind the trees a couple of metres from the clearing, Snow's eyes widened. She turned around looking at the woman who sat hidden behind her. "You knew? You knew?!"

Regina took a deep breath and closed her eyes. After Emma had healed her ankle, they'd continued walking. After half an hour they'd heard voices and when they came neared they just saw Cora magically holding Wendy against a tree. They'd stopped as close as they dared, knowing that they simply couldn't barge in, but needed to have a plan.

Regina let go of the breath she was holding and opened her eyes again. "I knew for a little while. She lived with the Snow Queen until she was six years old. Then my mother found out I was visiting her and that Wendy knew I was her mother. She took her away and I searched for her everywhere until I found her favorite cape covered with blood."

Snow quickly did the math. "That was about a year before you gave me that poisoned apple."

Regina nodded. "Yes, I was already practicing magic even before I knew I was pregnant with Wendy, but at that point all I wanted was using it for good things. To bring…" A sob escaped her.

"To bring Daniel back." Emma softly said.

Regina softly nodded her head. She wasn't surprised to learn Emma knew about Daniel and what had happened. "No matter how much I hurt, knowing Wendy was still alive, and I could visit her, was the only thing that was keeping me sane and good. Thinking she died, made me lose that last bit of good I still had left in me."

Snow White had turned silent, a contemplative look on her face. "Regina, Wendy disappeared after I met you in the Dark Forest, didn't she?"

A cold look passed over Regina's face, old habits are hard to break. "Yes. Yes, she did."

"You thought I had anything to do with her disappearance, didn't you." Snow softly said. "And that, together with my betrayal concerning Daniel, made you enact the curse eventually, am I right?"

Regina didn't say anything for a long period of time, she didn't have to. Both Snow White and Emma knew exactly that was what the former Queen thought had happened. Then she softly spoke; "At that time, yes, I did think you were responsible for her disappearance. How could I not, after Cora told me she had run into you in the forest, just mere moments after I've seen you slip away. And yes, that was the reason."

Snow sadly shook her head, wondering how they both had let it come this far. Emma, however, had heard the underlying meaning of what Regina had said to Snow. "What changed your mind?"

Snow looked confused at Emma, not knowing what she meant. Regina did know what Emma meant and with a pained look she told them it had been something her mother had left on a piece of paper, right before she'd taken Wendy (and everyone else) with her back to here.

Snow slowly made her way over to Regina and enveloped her in a tight hug. The former Evil Queen tensed the moment she got an inkling of what Snow was about to do. For a moment she kept her arms by her side, then she brought them around her stepdaughter and awkwardly returned the hug.

"We'll get her back, Regina, we'll get her back."


End file.
